Civil Coalition Launches Fact-Finding Report on August 2025 Demonstrations
Three civil society organisations have launched a report on the facts surrounding last year's August demonstrations. The three — the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), and LBH Jakarta — are members of the Fact-Finding Commission.
The independent report, titled "The Largest Silencing Operation Against Youth Since Reformasi," was compiled by the Fact-Finding Commission beginning in September and released on 18 February 2026. The report documents the facts behind the August 2025 demonstrations, the escalation of riots, looting, and the pursuit of activists.
The eleven researchers who worked on the report include Andrie Yunus, Arif Maulana, Aqwam Fiazmi Hanifan, Fadilah Rahmatan Al Kafi, Khaerul Anwar, M. Islah Satrio, M. Yahya Ihyaroza, Nurkholis Hidayat, Ravio Patra, Rizaldi Ageng Wicaksono, and Vebrina Monicha. "Our data is highly verifiable," said YLBHI Chairman Muhammad Isnur at the Indonesia Corruption Watch office in Jakarta on Friday, 18 February 2026.
The Fact-Finding Commission examined 115 police investigation records covering witnesses, suspects, experts, and forensic examinations. The commission then verified the information contained in these police records across 18 cities in eight provinces, including investigations that extended to three countries.
The report's methodology also drew upon open-source intelligence, which can be used to discover, analyse, and verify information from publicly accessible sources. The Fact-Finding Commission interviewed at least 63 informants, comprising activists, civil society members, university students, school students, trade unions, collectives, lawyers, and various other community organisations. The information gathered from these interviews sought to identify the roles of actors before, during, and after the demonstrations.
Triangulation of secondary data was also carried out by the Fact-Finding Commission. This secondary data was used to analyse mass media coverage, witness interviews, and field observations. "However, the Fact-Finding Commission did not obtain direct access to key state parties, such as the Ministry of Defence, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), and the National Police (Polri)," Isnur said.
The report also involved a number of cross-sector experts and specialists in reviewing and understanding the characteristics of a series of events that occurred before and after the August 2025 demonstrations. Isnur stated that the Fact-Finding Commission's report was compiled and presented transparently. "This report can therefore only be refuted by the authorities through equally open and transparent evidence," he said.
Fact-Finding Commission researcher Ravio Patra explained that the report was released to prevent the facts surrounding last year's August demonstrations from being left unaddressed. "As long as it is left without explanation, we will live in uncertainty," Ravio said.
He then outlined the commission's findings regarding the causes of the August 2025 demonstrations, which spread across various regions. Ravio said the events did not arise from a single issue, but rather from an accumulation of public anger. "There were political elite tensions, economic pressures, and a tug-of-war for power at the highest levels of government," he said.
At the end of August 2025, a series of demonstrations took place involving various community groups and students. The protests were triggered by increases in parliamentary members' allowances amid difficult economic conditions for the public.
The independent report, titled "The Largest Silencing Operation Against Youth Since Reformasi," was compiled by the Fact-Finding Commission beginning in September and released on 18 February 2026. The report documents the facts behind the August 2025 demonstrations, the escalation of riots, looting, and the pursuit of activists.
The eleven researchers who worked on the report include Andrie Yunus, Arif Maulana, Aqwam Fiazmi Hanifan, Fadilah Rahmatan Al Kafi, Khaerul Anwar, M. Islah Satrio, M. Yahya Ihyaroza, Nurkholis Hidayat, Ravio Patra, Rizaldi Ageng Wicaksono, and Vebrina Monicha. "Our data is highly verifiable," said YLBHI Chairman Muhammad Isnur at the Indonesia Corruption Watch office in Jakarta on Friday, 18 February 2026.
The Fact-Finding Commission examined 115 police investigation records covering witnesses, suspects, experts, and forensic examinations. The commission then verified the information contained in these police records across 18 cities in eight provinces, including investigations that extended to three countries.
The report's methodology also drew upon open-source intelligence, which can be used to discover, analyse, and verify information from publicly accessible sources. The Fact-Finding Commission interviewed at least 63 informants, comprising activists, civil society members, university students, school students, trade unions, collectives, lawyers, and various other community organisations. The information gathered from these interviews sought to identify the roles of actors before, during, and after the demonstrations.
Triangulation of secondary data was also carried out by the Fact-Finding Commission. This secondary data was used to analyse mass media coverage, witness interviews, and field observations. "However, the Fact-Finding Commission did not obtain direct access to key state parties, such as the Ministry of Defence, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), and the National Police (Polri)," Isnur said.
The report also involved a number of cross-sector experts and specialists in reviewing and understanding the characteristics of a series of events that occurred before and after the August 2025 demonstrations. Isnur stated that the Fact-Finding Commission's report was compiled and presented transparently. "This report can therefore only be refuted by the authorities through equally open and transparent evidence," he said.
Fact-Finding Commission researcher Ravio Patra explained that the report was released to prevent the facts surrounding last year's August demonstrations from being left unaddressed. "As long as it is left without explanation, we will live in uncertainty," Ravio said.
He then outlined the commission's findings regarding the causes of the August 2025 demonstrations, which spread across various regions. Ravio said the events did not arise from a single issue, but rather from an accumulation of public anger. "There were political elite tensions, economic pressures, and a tug-of-war for power at the highest levels of government," he said.
At the end of August 2025, a series of demonstrations took place involving various community groups and students. The protests were triggered by increases in parliamentary members' allowances amid difficult economic conditions for the public.